Harry Potter and the Return of the Elves
by kejal1
Summary: The Potters and the Longbottoms are having a little get together in celebration of their sons' first birthday when they receive an unexpected guest, one who changes their fate. F/F, M/F, possible M/M not sure yet, the rating will not change, good Dumbledore with bad aspects, basically expect most characters to be canon compliant personality wise, Neville/Harry sibling relationship
1. Chapter 1

**AN - This is going to annoy the followers of my other story, so apologies to them. But as a peace offering to them, and to prove the other story isn't abandoned, I promise to have the next chapter up by the end of the year. Anyway, enjoy, and I'll have notes about this chapter at the bottom.**

**Edit - I was a bit hasty putting this out, and made some mistakes. I also had an idea that I wanted to add.**

**Chapter One**

The Potters and the Longbottoms were celebrating their sons' first birthdays together, since they were only a day apart. The Marauders, James Potter's best friends since they were first years at Hogwarts, were also there. Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom had insisted on celebrating together. They had always been close, but the common danger both families found themselves in served to bond them to the point where they wanted their sons to see each other as brothers. They tried not to think that that might come about because one set of parents was gone.

Everyone was currently watching Harry and Neville interact in the playpen. "The next generation of Marauders, right there," Sirius Black stated with a grin.

"Merlin, I hope not," Lily said with a laugh, and everyone joined in.

"I agree. Our sons will be gentlemen," Alice said, giving The Marauders a smirk.

"Hey! We're gentlemen!" James exclaimed.

"Sometimes," Lily replies.

"Best take it, Prongs. That's honestly pretty generous," Remus Lupin tells James with a grin.

Suddenly, a flash of flame interrupted their banter, and a phoenix appeared with a letter in its beak and a small, oddly coloured, sleeping child in its talons. Wands were drawn, though not pointed, as the phoenix placed the child on the couch, then dropped the letter at Lily's feet and perched on the back of the couch.

"That's not Fawkes, so how'd they get through the fidelius!?" James asked in a minor panic.

"I don't find it too surprising that a phoenix could ignore such a thing. A better question might be why is it here, and with a child, who, based on the fact that she has purple skin, is of a magical race I've never seen," was Frank Longbottom's input.

Lily, who, along with Alice, had went to check on the child, spoke up then. "Well, whatever race she is, she's gorgeous."

James could hear the awe in her voice and tried to head her off. "Lily, we can't-"

"Let's read the letter before we make any decisions," Lily said, cutting James off.

"Fine," James sighed out.

Lily opened the unaddressed envelope, and pulled out the letter inside, as well as a pin showing an unknown symbol. Putting the pin aside, she unfolded the letter and began to read aloud.

"Dear humans,

Apologies for the poor form of address, but we only know your appearance, and that you can give our daughter something we can't. A safe and happy home. One of us has seen it. Only small flashes, but enough to know we're making the right decision.

You must have many questions, and we will do our best to anticipate them in this letter. First off, the basics. Our daughter is an elf, and her name is Adrielle."

Lily stopped there, feeling a need to say hello to the little girl. She leaned over what she now knew was an elf child, and gently brushed her jet black hair out of her face. "Hello, little Adrielle."

"A pretty name for a pretty girl," Alice said as she moved to stroke her hair.

"An elf?" Peter Pettigrew asked. "Aren't they a myth?"

"Apparently not, Wormy," Sirius replied.

"I think you're all missing the issue. They say we can give her a safe home. Anyone else see the problem? They say they saw it, but seers don't remember the prophecies they give!" James said with irritation in his voice.

Everyone sees the problem, James!" Lily snapped. More calmly, she continues. "They weren't talking about a prophecy. That's only one form of divination. Talented Seers are capable of more than just giving prophecies. Anyway, I think we should have all the information before we decide it's a bad idea."

Before James could respond, Remus decided to add his two cents. "James, Lily is right. Very little is known about the elves, scholars can't even agree on if they existed, but one thing they do agree on, is if they did exist, they were magically very powerful. So if an elfin Seer had a hand in this, I think it's important to at least listen to everything before making a decision."

James sighs. "Alright, Lily, Moony, let's see what they have to say."

"Thank you. You too, Remus." With that, Lily continues from where she left off.

"We will come back to Adrielle being an elf, as there are thing you need to know about that. But first, we're pretty sure you'll be uncertain of your ability to keep Adrielle safe, even with the visions that prove you can. But we have more reassurance to offer, though that reassurance also comes with it's own worries. We know there is a prophecy hanging over your head. We don't know what it says, we are only sure that it exists. We believe this because of another prophecy, one focused on Adrielle. You obviously need to know, so here it is."

Lily stops again, needing a moment to brace herself. She didn't even know this little girl (though she had to admit that she desperately wanted to), but yet another child burdened by prophecy broke her heart.

"Lily, you want me to take over?" James asked. She nodded and handed it over, and James continued.

"The elves best hope against their dark counterpart is here. Born to three, raised by four, claimed by a phoenix, she will return to the birthplace to grow into her power, and gather her followers. She will return as prophecy breaker, and master of dual magics. Her return will either end the elves isolation and corruption, complete her dominion, or bring her end. She is hope. She is despair. Her choices will determine which she embraces. Well, fuck"

"I assume you added that last part?" Sirius jokingly asked.

Sirius' joking nature often annoyed Lily, but she found she appreciated it for the moment. "I don't know, Sirius, seems rather appropriate." That got a small chuckle from everyone, except Peter.

"Guys. She's- she's dangerous. Maybe... maybe we should-"

"Stupefy!" Lily cast and Peter dropped to the floor.

"Lily!" James shouted.

Before he could say anything else, Alice spoke up, who everyone now noticed also had her wand in hand. "James, just be happy Lily was faster than me. I wasn't going to use a stunner."

James, once again, sighed. "Just to be clear, I was about to tell him to shut his mouth. I just don't think attacking him was necessary."

"Let's move on, shall we? Now, there was some scary stuff in there, but some good, too. Prophecy breaker, anyone? Sirius said.

Remus and James glanced at Peter, but decided to follow Sirius' lead and left him there.

"With that in there, if it's our prophecy it's talking about, which seems extremely likely, then only one can happen. They seemed to be implying that theirs takes precedence. Hopefully they explain that," Remus said.

"Yeah, and the born to three, raised by four part. Bit confusing, that," Sirius replied.

Alice and Lily shared a look. They had both noticed the instant attachment of the other to Adrielle, and had a fairly good idea about the raised by four part. But they both chose to keep it to themselves for the moment.

"Best to finish the letter, then," Frank declared.

"Yeah, it's lucky Adrielle is still sleeping," James replied. He turned to the ladies, who seemed to be watching the little elf sleep. "We're continuing, girls."

"Alright."

"We don't know how Adrielle will break the prophecy, but we suspect it has to do with an ability of hers. She can sense people's magic, as well as any active magic in her viscinity. Now, when we say she can sense people's magic, we don't just mean she can tell how powerful they are. That is only a small part of it. Everything you are is in your magic, so Adrielle can get a good feel for someone's personality before she ever speaks to them. As for sensing active magic, as of right now, she can tell its there and whether or not its dangerous. As she matures she should be able to tell exactly what it does. So we think if you just listen to her, you'll be alright.

Now that we've hopefully given you at least a little belief that you can raise her safely, we'll explain a bit about elves, both to make the prohecy easier to understand and because you should know if you're going to raise one. First of all, the elves are an entirely female race. So if you thought the female pronouns were specific for a prophecy, that's why. We are polyamorous by nature. Born to three. That's us by the way, Marella, Persephone, and Elwyn. And yes, Adrielle comes from all three of us. Elves can do that.

Now, the elves dark counterpart. That would be a corrupted elf. Pay attention to this, because if Adrielle takes the path of domination the prophecy gives as an option, it will most likely be because she was corrupted. There's two ways for an elf to become corrupted. They're not actually the same, but they're close enough that we consider both corruption. Now, it is said that elves are made of magic. What this means is that heavy use of a certain type of magic has an effect on the elf. For example, an elf partial to fire magic might have a resistance to fire and high temperatures, and using it against them would be foolish. I'm sure you can imagine the effects dark magic can have. That's one way to become corrupted.

The second way is harder to prevent. Elves form bonds with those they are close with. We will form these bonds with family, close friends, and of course romantic partners. The bond allows us to always be able to find our bonded, know if they are in trouble, and establish an empathic connection. On a side note, bonds formed in childhood can lead to romance later in life. Now, the issue with these bonds is that the death of a bonded takes a toll. It can drive the elf mad, and if there's someone to blame, she will be filled with a desire for vengeance. This isn't actually as big a problem as you might think. Elves are immune to things like sickness or aging. Only accident or violence can kill an elf.

But Adrielle will be bonding with humans. We think the bond might give a human some elven traits, but we don't really know. If she loses someone, the most important thing to do is to make sure she is in close proximity to as many of her bondmates as possible. Not all bonds are equal, so it's important that at least the strongest ones are there. That will help heal over the tear in her psyche that is created when a bond is ripped away. Do not let her isolate herself. That's in all capitals. That is the absolute worst way for an elf to grieve. And you should know one other thing. We don't know how it would work with humans, but with elves, corruption can spread through bonds.

We wish we could explain everything, but we're running out of time. Just know that our system for containing corrupted failed, and now we're in trouble.

Now, the part that says raised by four. We were a bit confused by that at first, as we understand humans to be mostly monogamous. But then Elwyn had her visions. So there can be no doubt, we will describe your appearances. A woman with red hair and emerald green eyes. Very attractive. A woman with shoulder length light brown hair, brown eyes, and... um," James looks at Alice nervously.

"I promise I'm not going to smack you for reading what the letter says," Alice assures him.

James nods and continues. "A woman with shoulder length light brown hair, brown eyes, and... large breasts. Also very attractive. A man with glasses, and messy jet black hair. A large man with dark brown hair and blue eyes. We have to admit, we prefer that Adrielle has more than two parents. Three or more is the norm for elves. We're sorry, but because of that, and because we couldn't trust in your generosity, we placed a spell on Adrielle that would cause any mother that sees her to feel as if she is theirs."

At this point, everyone was looking at Alice and Lily in question. They in turn looked at each other for several second, then both nodded, not just in agreement to how they felt, but also to what had to be done.

"Well, that explains Peter on the floor. If that had happened in response to something Peter said about Harry or Neville, we wouldn't have questioned it," Sirius said.

"So they're manipulating us into taking her," James complained.

"It doesn't matter. Frankly, I understand it, and it doesn't change how I feel. Alice?"

"I'm with you, Lily."

"So what are you ladies saying? asked Frank "The Potters and the Longbottoms should just raise a child together?"

"And why not?" Alice challenged. "Harry and Neville already spend lots of time together. It wouldn't be hard."

"Whose last name does she take?" James asked.

"Okay," Lily answered, "there would obviously be things that we would have to discuss, but we **are** doing this. Just accept it."

Alice took a different tack. Placing herself directly in front of Frank, she put a hand on his cheek, looked him in the eyes, and said "Please, Frank?"

Frank crumbled. With a sigh, he replied, "Alright. James?"

"I guess Harry and Neville have a big sister."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" came from both women before they leapt on their husbands and kissed them passionately.

The women dropped back to their feet and went back over to Adrielle. "Shouldn't she have woken by now? We haven't been quiet," Alice said in a worried tone.

"I suspect she's been charmed to stay asleep until the letter is finished," Remus said.

At this, the phoenix, who, until this point, had been quiet, chirped to get their attention. When all eyes were on her, she nodded.

"Well, that's a relief. Thank you," Lily said to the phoenix. She chirped again, which everyone took as acknowledgement.

"Alright, I'm going to finish," James announced. Everyone nodded and turned their attention to him.

"Elwyn saw your other children as well. It should be noted that that is all the spell does. Make you feel like Adrielle is yours. Any emotions associated with that are your own. You don't need to worry about other mothers seeing her. The spell should have already faded.

There are three more things we need to address. First, why we think our phophecy takes precedence over is known that only elves can have prophecies involving elves. Because of this, it is believed that elven prophecies supercede any they conflict with. For your sake, and Adrielle's, hopefully that's correct. Like we said, we don't know what your prophecy is, but prophecies generally don't bode well.

Secondly, the pin. You need to see the goblins. They will know what Adrielle is as soon as you enter their realm. The pin will tell them that Adrielle is now yours, and they will help you.

The third is about Adrielle. We kept her as long as we could. She's not old enough to bond with, but that won't be true much longer. That's why we sent her now. To ease her transition, we altered her memories. She will remember that she's an elf, that she used to be somewhere else, and her phoenix. (who, by the way, doesn't have a name because Adrielle hasn't decided on one yet) But she won't remember any people. When she wakes, she will be very susceptible to suggestion, so if you tell her you're her parents, she'll accept it. One last thing. She will turn 4 on September 6th, by your calendar. She will start bonding around then. Thank you, and good luck.

With Gratitude,

Persephone, Marella, and Elwyn

With those last words, Adrielle, who Alice and Lily had been watching, started to stir.

"She's waking up," Lily said softly.

Everyone started to crowd in, but Alice waved them back. "We don't want to overwhelm her. Lily and I first."

The little girl sat up and brushed her black hair out of her face and looked at Lily and Alice with completely blue eyes, lighter around the outside and darker in the centre. She says something that seemed to be directed at the phoenix, but it doesn't sound like any language any of them are familiar with. Lily and Alice's eyes widen. Lily decides she should say something back.

"Hello, sweetie."

At this, Adrielle closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Hi. Who are you?"

Lily and Alice breathe a sigh of relief that she responded in English. Without hesitation, Alice replied, "We're your mommies."

"Okay. Why do you look funny?"

The women smiled at this. "We're humans. This is what humans look like," Lily answered.

Adrielle studied them for a moment "Humans are pretty."

The women smiled widely at her, while Sirius said quietly to the rest of the men, "Remind me to figure out how to use that line." That got a few quiet chuckles.

"Thanks, baby," Alice said. Want to meet some more?"

"Yeah!" Adrielle cheered and held out her arms in the universal sign that she wanted to be picked up. Alice nodded at Lily to indicate she should do it, so they didn't both try.

Picking her up, Lily silently observed that she was lighter than expected. "Want to meet your daddies?" James and Frank moved forward at this.

"What's a daddy?"

Remembering that Adrielle was from a race of women, Lily rolled with it. "It's like a mommy, but a boy."

Adrielle's eyes go wide. "Wow! I've never met a boy person before!"

"Well, here's your chance, sweetie. Here's your daddy James," James waves at this, "and your daddy Frank."

"Hello, little one.."

Adrielle waves shyly at them while cuddling close to Lily, less sure of them than the women.

"They look even funnier than you and other mommy. And she sounds weird," Adrielle said, pointing at Frank.

Frank laughed. "Men have deeper voices. And I'm a he, not a she."

"Okay. Mommy, what are you and other mommy's names?"

"I'm Lily."

"And I'm Alice."

"I like those better than Frank and James."

"I agree," James said with a smile.

"What about them?" Adrielle asked, pointing at Remus and Sirius.

Lily walked over to them and answered, "This is your uncle Remus and your uncle Sirius."

"Are uncles like aunts?"

"That's right, baby," Alice replied, "You're very clever."

Adrielle beamed at her. "Thank you." She turned her gaze to Lily. "Can mommy Alice hold me now?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Lily said, and handed her over.

Once Alice had her, Adrielle spoke again. "Are you okay, Uncle Remus? I feel magic making you sick."

The letter had mentioned this, but Remus still had to ask. "You can feel magic, Adrielle?"

"Mm-hmm. Yours feels clever and warm and nice, but its... its... I don't know the right word," Adrielle said, looking down in embarrassment.

"That's okay, baby. Can you say it another way?" Alice asked.

"Um, I can feel bad magic in uncle Remus' magic, but it doesn't feel like him. It feels like it's hurting him."

I'm okay, cub. I get sick once a month, but I can handle it. And I think you wanted to say that my magic is infected with the bad magic you feel."

"Oh, okay. You're really alright?"

"Yes, I promise."

Alice hugged her tight. "You're such a sweet girl. So, you can feel all our magic?" Adrielle nods. "What does mine feel like?"

"You feel... very kind, but also... scary." Alice's eyes widened, but Adrielle continued before there was time for any other reaction. "Anyone who wants to hurt someone you care about would have to deal with you." Everyone nodded, remembering her comment about not using a stunner.

"You know you're one of those people I care about, right, baby?"

"Yes. Your magic is wrapped around me. It feels safe."

"But..."

"But what, sweetheart?"

"I can feel the magic on you! Someone's making you love me!"

"NO!" Lily exclaimed. "No. The love is real. The magic makes you feel like ours. If we were bad parents, it wouldn't matter. We don't care about the magic so neither should you."

"Okay. Thank you. But I know I'm forgetting things! I don't like it!"

"You don't have to like it, baby," Alice said. "But I promise, it was done with your best interests in mind."

"Okay. I trust you. Who's the sleeping man? I don't like him."

"That's Peter," James said. "Why don't you like him?"

"He cares about himself the most. And he has bad magic on his arm."

The Marauders' eyes went wide and Lily wasted no time in rolling up Peter's sleeves. The first arm she checked was blank, but the second made her gasp. "The Dark Mark!" was Lily's horrified exclamation.

The Marauders' expressions shifted into ones of deep anger. "The bloody traitor! I'm gonna kill him!" Sirius declared with hatred in his voice.

"He's our secret keeper," James said softly, terror on his face.

"Adrielle," Alice said loudly. "would you like to meet your little brothers? They're our other children."

"Like sisters! Yeah!"

Alice walked her over to the playpen. "That's Neville," she said, pointing, "and that's Harry. Its their birthday."

Adrielle gasped, then closed her eyes in concentration. Suddenly, there was a stuffed facsimile of Adrielle's phoenix in front of each boy. "Happy birthday!" she said, breathing a little heavily.

The boys' faces erupted in joy as they grabbed their new toys, while Alice's face was one of shock. If Adrielle could summon detailed toys as a toddler, it boggled the mind what she'd be able to do as an adult.

"That was... that was very sweet of you, Adrielle. But are you okay?"

"Yes, mommy. I didn't want their toys to go away, so I had to use a lot of magic, but I'm okay."

Doing her best to hide her astonishment, Alice replied, "Okay, baby, but be careful using magic, okay?"

"Okay, mommy. Can I play with Neville and Harry?"

"That's a great idea," Alice agreed, and placed Adrielle in the pen. "We'll be close if you need us, okay?

"Yes, mommy."

Alice returned to the adults. "Okay, we need to discuss what to do about Peter, but I should mention that Adrielle can consciously use magic. Quite well in fact. She conjured two stuffed phoenixes for the boys when I told her it was their birthday. All she seemed to do was think about it, and it happened."

"Okay, we'll discuss it with her. But right now, Peter."

"Can I ask if you still think I'm a traitor?" Remus asked quietly.

The other Marauders looked guilty, while Lily looked furious. "You thought Remus was a traitor? Why didn't I know that?"

James looked down at the floor, knowing his answer would further anger his wife, especially given the revelations of the night. "Uh, because I knew you'd disagree."

James was right. "And I would've been right! But by all means, don't tell _your wife _what you're thinking because my opinion might be different! I cannot bloody believe you! And _you, _Sirius Black, you once almost put blood on his hands and got his soul sucked out, and you dare even think that he'd betray us!? You two disgust me! I... I need a minute." With that, she went over to the children, with Alice following.

"Well, that was way worse than anything I could've said to you. I'll have to thank her for that," Remus said with a vengeful smirk.

"I'm sorry, Remus. We thought it was you because you were gone a lot, and you were tight lipped about it. And we figured... he'd actually want you."

"Unlike Peter."

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "I'm sorry, too, Remus. We knew it was someone, and we were paranoid. And Peter never occurred to us because we didn't think he'd want him."

"Honestly, he didn't occur to me either. I forgive you both. Lily ripped you guys apart to my satisfaction, and I've just lost one friend. I won't lose more. I'll talk to her for you, if you need it.

Frank, who had been quiet due to not really being involved, spoke up. "Now that you've dealt with that, we really need to figure out what we're gonna do with Peter." He raised his voice so the women could hear. "Ladies? I'm sorry, but we need to deal with this."

They came back over after saying something to Adrielle. "We'll talk about this later," Lily said to James. "For now, I say we make sure the traitor can't go anywhere, question him, and obliviate him. If _he_ hasn't come yet, he's waiting for something. We could set a trap."

"As much as I want to end Peter, that's probably best," James agreed. "We should get Dumbledore here."

"I'll go for Dumbledore. Give me the letter, he'll want to read it. You guys get him in a room upstairs and ward it against animagi transformations, " Lily said, taking the letter from James. "I'm just going to say goodbye to Adrielle. She walked over to the playpen.

Adrielle looked up. "Hi, mommy! I really like my brothers! They're so cute!"

Lily smiled widely at her. "That's wonderful, sweetheart. I just wanted to tell you that I need to leave for just a little bit. I won't be long."

Adrielle looked sad for a moment, but then brightened up. "Phoenix can take you! She'll make sure you get back okay!" Hearing her, the phoenix swooped over and landed on Lily's shoulder.

"How will she know where to go?"

"Just think really hard about where you want to go."

"Thank you, sweetie. See you soon." And in a flash of fire, they disappeared.

**AN2 - First of all, I know it looks like I'm setting up Adrielle to be OP, and that will be true for the canon enemies, but not the ones that I will create. So as of right now, I'm definitely missing some pieces to this, so suggestions about relationships and plot points are welcomed. I'd like a beta, for both this and my other story, but if you're only interested in one, that's acceptable. Oh, this is also on AO3, if you prefer that site.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN - I made some edits to chapter one, so it might be worth reading it again. Also the beginning of this chapter references the letter heavily, so having it fresh in your mind would be helpful. Enjoy! **

**Chapter 2**

Headmaster of Hogwarts and leader of The Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore, was sitting in his office, contemplating his next move, when he was startled by a flash of flame. His eyes shot to Fawkes, his phoenix companion (the word pet definitely didn't apply), who was resting on his perch. Realizing it wasn't him, he instinctively reached for his wand, but then stopped, seeing Lily Potter standing in his office with a phoenix on her shoulder.

"Good evening, Lily. That was quite the entrance. I'm glad to know how impressive that looks," the headmaster said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Wow, that was... amazing! Albus, I have no idea why you still apparate. I've never felt anything like that!"

"It is quite the pleasant experience, isn't it? May I ask how you came to encounter a phoenix? Has," Albus examined the phoenix for a moment, "she chosen you?"

"No, but the one she has chosen has come to be in my care. I think that's why she's willing to help me."

Albus' eyes widened. "Are you saying she's the familiar of a child?"

Before she could reply, Fawkes started chirping. Then the other phoenix made a series of chirps. When she finished, Fawkes briefly sang, the song filling them with sadness and happiness in equal measure.

"Um, yes she is. Were they... speaking?"

"Yes, I believe that to be the case. It seems whatever he learned was a mixed bag. And that is quite unusual. To have a phoenix usually requires... well, at the risk of sounding immodest, it requires a rather heroic deed. The only way to have one without that is to be so innately good that the phoenix is drawn to you. They also have to judge you capable of doing the good that's in your heart. I have to admit I'm quite curious about this child. Did you need help finding a home for...?"

"Adrielle. And no, we know we're in danger, but she's staying with us. Read this," Lily said, handing him the letter. "It will make things clearer. I have more to tell you when you finish."

Albus wanted to try and dissuade her from her decision, but thought it would be doing her a disservice to do so without doing as she asked first. So he began to read.

He found almost immediately that he was unprepared. An elf! He hadn't given the supposedly mythical race much thought before, but now, knowing they were real, and that he could speak to one, he couldn't help but be intrigued.

The letter writer's intent was immediately obvious, and he wondered if a mistake had been made, despite Lily's determination to keep the child. But then they knew about the prophecy, and had their own. His heart sank. Albus was rather sick of prophecy. Bracing himself, he read over the prophecy.

When he got to the end of the prophecy, he was baffled, hopeful and concerned. He'd never heard of one prophecy referencing another before. And how could a child, who he assumed was quite young, prevent a true prophecy?

He couldn't help but be disturbed by the part that says she will gather followers, not after Tom, especially when she wasn't guaranteed to be a force for good. But what he told Lily about phoenixes was true, so he knew something quite extreme would have to happen for her to go another way. That brought some comfort.

But if she stayed on the path of light, the two words prophecy breaker made him think that she would be the saviour of his people as well as her own. It was his duty to aid in the first, but it would be his privilege to aid in the second. He realized that would make him one of her followers, and thought with amusement that that would be a nice change.

Master of dual magics was interesting. It seemed obvious to him that she was meant to master not only her native magic, but the human brand as well. He had a feeling that to make that possible, it would take action on the Potter's part, but he'd keep that to himself. It should be done for the right reasons. This part also made him aware of the first thing he would have to do to help this Adrielle. Ensure that she could legally own a wand, and that she could attend Hogwarts.

Albus suddenly realized he had already committed himself to a rather daunting task while still having one in front of him. He wasn't particularly surprised. Many thought he was being humble or simply trying to make himself look good when he said he valued his position of headmaster over his other, politically powerful ones. He wasn't. Aiding and guiding the young towards their potential was his passion. And it wasn't in him to let a child destined to have a hand in the fate of her race figure it out on her own.

Coming out of his thoughts, he knew he was getting ahead of himself. He needed to let the evening play out before he started making plans. He returned to the letter.

Adrielle's ability fascinated him. He had never heard of a more useful magical gift. He was both curious and apprehensive about what she would sense about him. It occurred to him that she would be able to sense the dark mark, and he had a bad feeling about what Lily had to tell him.

Putting that thought aside, he read on. This part was information about elves, and he soaked it in. An entirely female race made Albus think of the Veela, but they were so insular and secretive he wasn't even certain if they were all female, so it was hard to make a comparison. But he did know they had relationships with men, and reproduced with them. He was under the impression that wherever the elves went, they were the only sentient beings there so he doubted the same could be said about them. They were a monogendered race designed for multiple partners, and that was fascinating, but he worried that that natural desire would make things difficult for Adrielle. Developing feelings for someone while in a relationship would likely be natural for her, and wouldn't feel wrong, but she would be hard pressed to find someone who could accept it, let alone be willing to invite a third into the relationship. She was at least lucky that being gay in the magical world wasn't seen as a big deal. Even if you're expected to participate in an arranged marriage and produce heirs, there were magical solutions and marriage laws that meant all that was expected of them was to live together and raise kids. They were otherwise free to be with who they wanted and live as they like. The only problems she might see on that front was from muggleborns.

As he read on, he couldn't help but be excited, learning about a new species. And he had to say that the specifics on elves were particularly engaging.

When he got to the part about bonds, he thought they sounded like a major weakness. But it also meant elves put a lot of value in those they're close to, and that could only be for the good. Albus noticed that the letter writers assumed that Adrielle would be able to bond with humans. He wondered if there was a reason, or if it just never occurred to them that she might not be able to. He supposed that just because there were no records of humans and elves together here, that didn't mean they didn't have them. He also wondered if they were right, and the bond would have an effect on humans, and what that would be.

He read about the spell on Adrielle, and concluded that trying to convince Lily to give her up would be fruitless. Besides, he was reconsidering his opinion on that, though he still felt it was dangerous. Albus assumed the other mother was Alice Longbottom, and couldn't see either woman blaming parents for taking precautions.

Albus appreciated the information on how prophecies could conflict, and had more hope that both Harry and Neville would be spared. He hoped Adrielle's interference was as passive as her parents had suggested earlier in the letter.

The mention of the goblins was intriguing. It didn't surprise him that the goblins would remember the elves. He just hoped they were remembered as friends.

He was ambivalent about the memory spell. He agreed that it would make things easier for Adrielle, but now the only example of her race she would have was herself.

Having finished, Albus looked up and caught Lily's attention. "Well, it looks like I owe James and yourself congratulations. And the Longbottoms, too, I assume?

Lily smiled widely at that. "Thank you. And yes. Definitely not how I imagined having another kid, but I'm genuinely happy about it."

"Then you're making the right decision. Tell me about her?"

"She's so sweet," Lily gushed. "She could sense Remus' lycanthropy, though she just knew he was sick, and she wanted to make sure he was alright. Then, she found out it was the boys' birthday, and conjured them toys. Apparently, they won't fade. I guess I should be awed by her power, but I'm just proud that she made her brothers happy."

Albus smiled. "She is truly already your daughter, as far as you're concerned, isn't she?"

"Yes. Alice is the same. I know it's the spell, but I can't be angry about it, not when she's so... perfect. It sounds wrong, but I wish the spell had affected the men too. They went along with it, but I think they knew that we would never give in."

"Give them time. They're good men. They'll come to love her as much as you do. I do not believe they are capable of anything else with a child in their care. And don't blame the spell too much. I think I know you well enough to say that you would be enamoured with her actions, spell or not."

Lily smiled softly at the headmaster. "Thank you for the reassurance, Albus. I think I needed it."

"It was no problem at all, my dear. Now, I believe you had more to tell me."

A hard look appeared on Lily's face. "Yes. Adrielle found the traitor. Peter."

Albus was shocked. "I would never have thought."

"There's more. Sirius isn't our secret keeper. Peter is. We think if Voldemort hasn't attacked yet, he's waiting for something."

Albus sighed. "Well, that was clever, even if it backfired. I'm guessing you want to set a trap?"

"Yes. I thought either you could get some veritaserum, or you could take the information from his mind, then we could obliviate him."

"It's risky, because Voldemort could discover the obliviation, but I believe it's our best chance. I think veritaserum is best. I believe the remaining marauders would appreciate hearing his answers. Luckily, I am in the habit of keeping some available." He grabbed a vial from his desk. "Let's go. Fawkes."

"Take me back, please... phoenix."

With that, they disappeared from the office.

* * *

They reappeared in the Potters' living room. "Wow," Lily said. "I don't think I'll get used to that."

The men had disappeared, but Alice was there, keeping the children entertained.

"Hello, Albus." She picked up Adrielle. "Lily, I put the boys down in Harry's crib." Lily nodded in acknowledgement. "Adrielle, this is Albus Dumbledore. He's a friend of ours."

"Hello, Mr. Dumbledore."

Albus took her appearance in his stride, and responded, "Hello, Adrielle, how are you?"

"I'm good! I have brothers!" She turned her attention to Lily. "Mommy! I'm glad you're back! You too, phoenix!"

"I'm glad, too, sweetheart. You really need to think of a name for her."

"I know. But it's hard!" She turned her attention back to Albus."Mr. Dumbledore, why do you look like that? Were you cursed?"

Before anyone could respond, Fawkes started chirping, and Adrielle focused on him. When he finished, to everyone's shock, she responded. "Oh, okay, I understand. Thank you, Mr. Phoenix." She looked to Albus. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"That's... quite alright, my dear. You understood what Fawkes- that's his name- was saying?"

"Hi, Fawkes! Yes. I understand all languages. All elves can."

"That's quite a handy ability. English is new to you then?"

"Thanks! I didn't know what it was called. Yes. It's kind of weird, but I like it."

Lily facepalmed. "We should've realized that it was weird that she sounds perfectly British."

"Baby, if you know every language, why didn't you know what English was called, or the word infected?" Alice asked.

"We still have to learn one language, and if we don't know a word in that language, we don't know them in any."

"Huh. Logic and magic can go together," Lily mused.

"Very interesting. Would you mind sharing what he told you?"

"He said that humans don't stop aging when they become adults, and humans who are old look like you. Then he told me it was rude to ask about."

Albus smiled kindly at her. "I could never fault someone for trying to understand. It is quite alright. Now, I hear you can use magic. Would you mind showing me?"

"Okay! What should I do?"

"Can you make the table float?"

"Yeah!" She turned her attention to the table and a look of concentration appeared on her face while Albus carefully observed her. The table lifted into the air, and after a moment, it gently touched back down.

"Very good! Can I ask how you make your magic work?"

"Umm... I think really hard about what I want to happen, and it does."

Albus' eyes widened. If she could do that, he wondered why she would even need wanded magic. But then he had an idea.

"Adrielle, if I now made the table float, would you be able to tell the difference between what you did, and what I do?"

"I think so."

"Let's try, then." When he was sure Adrielle was ready, he levitated the table.

Adrielle gasped. " You used a lot less magic than me! Cool!"

Albus had had a feeling that that was what she would say. "That's very interesting. Thank you for doing that for me."

"You're welcome. I like helping."

"That's very admirable."

Adrielle stared at Albus for a moment, looking as though she were studying him. "You're confusing."

"Oh?"

"You're kind, but also not. You're trusting, but also secretive. You don't think you're better than anyone else, but you also think you always know what's best and don't like asking what others think."

"That's... quite illuminating. I understand your confusion, but I think you'll find people are rather complicated. Being one thing does not mean they cannot be another. For example, a woman might scream in terror and scurry from a room upon seeing a mouse. But that same woman might face down a dragon to protect her children. I do not believe it to be unusual to have opposing aspects in your personality. I find that what aspect you show depends on the situation. Do you understand?"

"I... don't know. It's confusing."

"I would not let it concern you right now. Understanding tends to come with time, and I believe you have quite a lot of it. Anyway, it was lovely meeting you, Adrielle, but I'm afraid I have to help your parents with something"

"Come on, baby, you and I will play down here while mommy Lily and Professor Dumbledore do what they have to do."

"Okay. It was nice meeting you, too, Professor!"

Albus acknowledged her with a smile, and Lily lead him away "I'm sorry about that, Albus."

"No need, my dear. The occasional reminder that I'm not perfect is good for me. And I meant it when I said it was illuminating. Apparently, I'm not quite as self-aware as I thought I was. Something to ponder. That being said, it might be advisable to suggest to Adrielle that she keep her evaluations to herself in the future. I imagine that not everyone will have the same appreciation of it that I did."

"Yes, we'll definitely have to talk to her."

"Now, I believe we have business."

"I guess we should get in there before we have to dispose of a body. Hopefully, Frank kept them in line"

They entered the room to find the men standing quietly, surrounding Peter, who was bound to a chair, still unconscious.

"Hello, Albus, Lily," Frank said. "I managed to convince the others that waking Peter up for a chat was ill advised, but I'm glad you're here. I don't think they could hold off much longer."

"Understandable, but I think it's for the best that you waited."

James sighed. "You're probably right, Albus. I'm not sure we could listen to whatever excuses he has and not do something."

"I cannot blame you. Betrayal is not, and should not, be easily accepted. But we do need to hear what he has to say. I brought veritaserum to aid in that. I'll wake him."

Albus gave a silent wave of his wand, and Peter jerked awake. He realized he was tied up and tried to transform. When he couldn't, he resorted to begging.

"G-guys, come on. I-I had no choice. He's going to win-"

"Shut your bloody mouth, you fucking traitor! We trusted you, and you were going to trade James, Lily and Harry for your safety! Does a decade of friendship mean nothing, you coward!? All we want to hear from you is what a little veritaserum makes you say."

Peter looked truly panicked now. "You can't do that! If he finds out, I'm dead!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have followed him, then," James quietly replied. "Give him the veritaserum, Albus."

"NO! NO!" Frank and Remus held Peter while Albus gave him the veritaserum. It quickly took effect and he stopped struggling.

"What's your name?" Albus asked.

"Peter Edmund Pettigrew."

"Who are you loyal to?"

"The dark lord Voldemort."

"Did you give Voldemort the location of the Potters?"

"Yes"

"Why hasn't he attacked yet?"

"He's waiting for Halloween."

"Why?"

"He didn't explain."

"Is the house under surveillance?"

"Yes."

Albus turned back to the group. "Anyone have questions?"

"Why did you betray us?" James growled.

"He's winning. I don't want to die."

"Pathetic," Sirius said with disdain.

"Did you plan to report Adrielle to him?" Lily asked.

"Yes."

"Do you feel guilty, enabling the murder of children?" Lily asked in a dark tone.

"No. It helps me. That's all I care about."

Lily reached for her wand, but James grabbed her arms. "You can't. We need him." They stare each other down for a moment, but then Lily shakily nods.

"Did you know James and Sirius thought that I was the traitor?"

"Yes, I encouraged it."

James and Sirius look down in shame at that.

The room sits in silence for a moment. "Does anyone have anything else?" Albus asked.

Everyone shook their head, and Albus applied the antidote, and put him back out.

Aren't you going to obliviate him? Sirius asked.

"Yes, but first we must discuss what he will remember. Unfortunately, you can't cease contact with him, that would be too suspicious. Which means we have to figure out what we want him to know. The truth is out of the question, obviously, but we should figure out what we want him to know about Adrielle, if anything.

"I think Alice needs to be a part of this conversation," Frank said.

"Then shall we adjourn downstairs?"

Everyone agreed and followed Albus out of the room. When they got down the stairs, they saw Adrielle sitting on Alice's lap, happily chattering away while Alice listened intently with a smile on her face. Lily couldn't help but envy Alice the extra time, even while her logic argued the time was negligible, and they were all close enough that everyone involved would ensure equal time.

"Hi, mommy Lily! Hi, daddy James! Hi, daddy Frank! Hi, uncle Remus! Hi, uncle Sirius! Hi, Professor Dumbledore! Hi, Fawkes!" Fawkes chirped cheerily, obviously happy to be acknowkedged with everyone else.

James chuckled. "We all appreciate the attention, honey, but it's okay to greet us all at once. It'll save some time."

"Okay, daddy," Adrielle said, and then yawned.

"You tired, sweetie?" Lily asked. Adrielle nodded.

"Okay. Let's get you to bed. We'll transfigure what you need tonight, but we'll get you your own stuff as soon as we can, okay?

"Alright."

"Albus, can you give us a few minutes?"

"Not a problem, my dear."

"Good night, everyone," Adrielle said, and with that her and her parents left the room.

* * *

The Potters and the Longbottoms re-emerged about twenty minutes later. "She go down alright?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. I think we were lucky she was so tired, though. She was excited when she realized she didn't know any of our children's stories," James answered.

"Ha! I definitely got the impression that her personality could be described as exuberant."

"I think you're right. Once she's settled, she's gonna be a handful, not because she misbehaves, but because she'll just be so excited and curious all the time. I didn't know you knew that word, by the way."

"Ha ha. But we should get on with it. You four still need to figure out things amongst yourselves after we figure out what we're doing with the traitor." The last part came out in a growl.

"So what did you find out?" Alice asked. They quickly filled her in.

After considering the information, Alice came to a conclusion. "This place is compromised. There's no guarantee he won't change his mind about the time of the attack. You can't stay here."

Albus spoke up. "The house is being watched. I think it's best-"

"I'm not talking to members of The Order of the Phoenix. I'm talking to my co-parents. This doesn't concern you," Alice said in a dangerous tone.

"Then we should save it for our private conversation," Frank said in a calm tone, putting a hand on her arm.

"Fine."

Albus, realiziing that, with their new relationship, what Alice wanted held infinitely more weight with the Potters than what he wanted did, conceded. "I'll go ahead and work on a way to make it seem like you're still here."

"I think that would be best," James replied.

Alice was relieved. She knew Lily would agree, but she simply didn't know James well enough to be sure.

"Alright," Remus said, "what should Peter remember?"

"Well, since it seems like we'll only be here when we have to host Peter, and it would be irresponsible to bring Adrielle at those times, I think he should remember celebrating the boys birthdays, and falling asleep on the couch." Lily suggested. "Wait, he doesn't know your location, does he?"

"No," Frank replied, "there was never a reason to inform him."

"Good. In that case, I don't see how he could inadvertently meet her."

"Alright, I will alter his memories so he simply remembers a pleasant birthday party, and falling asleep. But I suggest preparing a story, just in case. Second obliviations of the same knowledge tend to be easier to break. Before I do that, I'd like to ask that you stay here, just for tonight. I can get everything set up to make it appear you're still here tomorrow. I just need to reaffirm my knowledge in a few things. I will set up a ward for tonight that will inform me if anyone enters it, and I will be here immediately."

"Alright, Albus, one night," Lily said.

"Fine," Alice said, "but we're not leaving."

"You are, of course, welcome, Alice," James said.

"Thank you.. Now, I will modify Peter's memory and float him down to the couch."

Everyone agreed, and Sirius and Remus prepared themselves to leave.

* * *

A little while later, the Potters and the Longbottoms sat together, wondering where to begin.

"How about we start with something simple? Where will you live?" Frank inquired.

"The Potters aren't the richest purebloods, but we have a few properties scattered around, just as a consequence of existing so long. We'll be alright."

"I think..." Alice started. "I think we should live together. At least for the short term. Adrielle should be around all of us as much as possible until our relationships with her are solid. And it would be easier for Neville and Harry to grow attached if she's not going back and forth."

"I'm for it," Lily immediately agrees.

"You make good points," James said. "And safety in numbers is another consideration."

"While I don't disagree, we should consider that changing the arrangement later will likely make all of our children unhappy," Frank reasoned.

"I think we have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Alice said.

"Alright, I'm on board, then. I think our current safehouse is the best option, as it's already protected. There's a guest room for you, Neville sharing the nursery with Harry isn't a problem, and we can convert the office for Adrielle easily enough."

James sighed. "Alright, but we pay rent."

Alice looked affronted. "This is for our daughter. I won't make money off it!"

Frank agreed with Alice, but knew he would say the same thing if the roles were reversed. Deciding they didn't need an argument right now, he stepped in. "Perhaps we can shelf this conversation for when we're out of danger?"

"That's fine," Lily quickly agreed. James nodded after a moment of consideration.

"I guess we should discuss Adrielle's name," Lily continued. "Is there a way for her to take both names?"

"I... don't know. But the goblins would. We have to see them anyway so we can ask," James responded.

"In that case, I think we can all agree that Adrielle should have both of our names, if it's possible, right?" Frank asked. Everyone nodded. "Then I think we should hold off on a conversation about one name or the other until it proves necessary to have one." Everyone agreed with that. "Then is there anything else before we move on to what needs to be done?"

"I'm going to state something kind of obvious, because I need to know where everyone stands. When Adrielle is older, she is almost definitely going to be interested in women romantically, probably exclusively."

"That had occurred to me," James said. "I have no problem with it. There's no real issue with it in the wizarding world. If she falls for a pureblood, she might have to accept being a part of the woman's marriage contract to someone else, but I think that's the biggest issue she'll face."

"Do _you _have a problem with it, Lily?" Alice asked seriously.

James saw Lily flinch at the question. He looked at Alice, who he saw was watching Lily intently, like she wanted to see her face when she answered. Why would Alice think Lily would have a problem? And why was Lily acting like her question was valid?

"No, I don't. I swear, Alice, I don't."

"Alright, I believe you. Just... had to check."

Lily sighed. "I know."

"Okay. What was that?"

"Shit. Sorry, Lily."

"It's fine. I really should have told him, I just never thought to."

"Tell me what?"

"Alice and I... were interested in each other at Hogwarts. When she eventually asked me out, I said no. I told her I didn't want to be like that. Didn't want to like girls like that, and definitely didn't want to do anything about it. I still liked guys, so that made it easy enough."

"Is this the fight nobody ever knew anything about?" James asked softly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I never told you. It just... never came up."

"I understand. Our time together has been rather busy. And I'm always happy to learn something new about you."

"We should also be prepared for her to attempt a three-way relationship," Frank said.

"Do we... forbid that?" James asked.

"No. If she can find willing people, we shouldn't interfere. It's clearly natural for her species and we should let her be herself. But maybe warn her of things like jealousy and unequal feelings," Alice said.

"I agree. And now that we're talking about it, it occurs to me that Adrielle probably assumes we're all together."

"She'll bring it up eventually," Alice said. "Now, we need to figure out what we need to do to be able to care for Adrielle."

"Yes, perhaps a list? Frank suggested.

The conversation went on for quite a while, determining what needed to be done, who should do what, and how to get it done safely. They were determined to do this properly.


End file.
